(Amended by Ord. No. 187,122, Eff. 8/8/21.)
A. LAHD shall require an Owner to satisfy one of the following conditions for approval of an Application for Clearance:
1. Construct, for each Residential Unit to be Converted or Demolished, a Comparable Unit in the City of Los Angeles within a two-mile radius of the units to be Converted or Demolished.
(a) LAHD may authorize the construction of fewer units to replace the Residential Units to be Converted or Demolished if LAHD determines that the following three conditions are met:
(i) The replacement units provide amenities, such as bathrooms and kitchens, not present in the units to be withdrawn;
(ii) The needs of the current residents of the Residential Hotel would be served by the better amenities and larger units; and
(iii) The reduction in the number of units would not significantly decrease the number of available Residential Units in the City.
(b) Where the Owner chooses to comply with the conditions for approval of an Application for Clearance pursuant to this subdivision, LAHD shall not approve the Application for Clearance until LADBS issues a certificate of occupancy for units constructed pursuant to this subdivision, except where CRA/LA has approved replacement units within four years of the date of Demolition of the Residential Hotel units pursuant to CRA/LA Development Guidelines and Controls for Residential Hotels in the City Center and Central Industrial Redevelopment Project Areas, so long as the guidelines are in full force and effect.
2. Pay to the City of Los Angeles a fee in an amount equal to 80 percent of the cost of construction of an equal number of comparable Residential Units plus 100 percent of site acquisition costs. GSD shall determine the fee amount based on an independent MAI certified appraisal reviewed by GSD. The applicant shall pay for the appraisal. The fee payments shall be placed in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and be used for the Permanent Supportive Housing Program pursuant to Subsection B. of this section. The funds deposited in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund for the Permanent Supportive Housing Program pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision may be used to create replacement units. If the units to be Converted or Demolished are in the City Center or Central Industrial Redevelopment Project Area, the fee will be paid into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to be used for the Permanent Supportive Housing Program in accordance with the CRA/LA’s Guidelines and Controls for Residential Hotels in the City Center and Central Industrial Redevelopment Project Areas, for so long as the guidelines are in full force and effect.
3. Convert Residential Units to units that are either Light Housekeeping Rooms, Efficiency Dwelling Units or dwelling units, and which shall be subject to a regulatory agreement filed with the Los Angeles County Recorder guaranteeing for a period of at least 55 years that at least 10 percent of the units shall be affordable to households with income no greater than 30 percent of Area Median Income, at least an additional 40 percent of the units shall be affordable to households with income no greater than 40 percent of Area Median Income, and at least an additional 30 percent of the units shall be affordable to households with income no greater than 50 percent of Area Median Income, as these terms are defined by the United States Department of Housing. The initial rent for the remaining units may be set at any amount.
(a) The option provided by this subdivision applies only to Residential Hotels containing more than 250 units.
(b) LAHD may authorize the construction of fewer units to replace the Residential Units to be Converted pursuant to this subdivision if LAHD determines that the following three conditions are met:
(i) The replacement units provide amenities, such as bathrooms and kitchens, not present in the units to be withdrawn;
(ii) The needs of the current residents of the Residential Hotel would be served by the better amenities and larger units; and
(iii) The reduction in the number of units would not significantly decrease the number of available Residential Units in the City.
B. The funds deposited in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be used to provide capital funding for the development of permanent supportive housing projects pursuant to the City’s Permanent Supportive Housing Program. At the end of the calendar year after the year in which funds are deposited in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, any remaining funds that have not been committed through the Permanent Supportive Housing Program shall be available for the development of affordable housing projects funded through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Units developed with funds committed under the Affordable Housing Trust Fund pursuant to this subsection shall be restricted to households with incomes no greater than 35% of Area Median Income, as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.